Asbestos contamination in buildings around the world is a serious health problem which has been the subject of intense controversy in recent years. Once considered the "miracle mineral" in the insulation industry, asbestos has been positively linked to respiratory diseases. Examples of asbestos-related diseases include asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. A survey by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) estimates that asbestos in various forms has been used in insulation in more than 30,000 public schools and 730,000 public or commercial buildings.
A general industry to abate or remove offending asbestos has been developed in the United States to address the problems discussed above. In addition, a regulation for asbestos issued by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for asbestos requires very special handling and ultimate disposal of the waste products produced by the asbestos abatement industry. The process provided by the present invention is intended to provide an effective method for decomposing and effectively disposing of asbestos-related compounds.